Ian Schrager Company and Highgate have formed a new joint venture designed to expand the PUBLIC hotel brand into markets around the world. The partnership combines Schrager’s creative leadership with Highgate’s operational scale and investment depth.
A strategic shift for Schrager’s longstanding model
The collaboration marks an intentional evolution in Schrager’s business approach. Highgate (which manages more than 80,000 keys across North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe) will operate and manage PUBLIC properties, while Schrager maintains complete creative authority, brand direction, and stewardship.
“I could have chosen anyone in the industry to partner with, but I chose Highgate,” Schrager says. “They are the smartest, most talented, and most disciplined operators and investors in the business. This partnership allows me to focus entirely on what I do best—concept, product, positioning, and experience, while allowing Highgate to do what they do best. To me, it’s a dream team, where 1+1 = 10.”
Ian Schrager
Continuing the legacy of reinvention
Over the course of 50-plus years and nearly 50 hotels—spanning his private-label projects and the EDITION brand—Schrager has reshaped the hospitality landscape with innovations in design, experience, operations, and F&B. His approach has consistently delivered above‑market performance and industry-defining concepts.
“I reject the notion of yesterday’s innovator becoming today’s establishment. I’m only interested in creating something original, unique, and special that defies categorization—something that people have not seen before,” says Schrager. “In fact, I try to give people something that they did not even know they wanted or believe existed.”
A new creative era for PUBLIC
The partnership comes at a moment of expansion for PUBLIC. Later this year, Schrager will unveil a new F&B collaboration at PUBLIC New York. Meanwhile, PUBLIC West Hollywood—opening in the spring—will further push the brand’s boundaries. The hotel is defined “by what it doesn’t have rather than what it does have,” and each guestroom is designed to serve multiple functions, including use as a private screening room.
“Ian is the greatest hotelier of the modern era,” adds Mahmood Khimji, cofounder and managing principal of Highgate. “He literally invented the lifestyle category. We are extremely excited to be working with him to operate PUBLIC Hotels.”
Escalator entrance at PUBLIC new York
King Park View Room at PUBLIC New York
Guestroom at the forthcoming PUBLIC West Hollywood
A rendering of the lobby at PUBLIC West Hollywood
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